I found this thread very interesting and just wanted to add my bit-

first, a lot of widely used "modern", "conventional" medications are based on plants and herbs-the best example is aspirin, but there are a lot of others.

second, not everything that is "natural" is good and lacks possible side effects. in fact, most pharmacologically active natural substances can have very serious potential side effects.

third, in order to verify the safety and efficacy of a pharmacologicaly active substance, it has to be tested in a large number of people, prefarably with a variety of conditions.

I fully agree that vaccinations are a two sided-sword, just like any medical intervention, and the risk benefit ratio should be weighed. one problem that people have to be aware of that is public health decissions (such as vaccinations) are uniform and can't take into account the specific risk/benefit ratio of a specific sub-group or even more so a specific patient in the population. so unless it is totally contraindicated or the safety is obviously questionable, those issues can't be addressed, and should be addressed by the specific patient and his/her physician.

and last but not least- treatment with ephedrine was discovered by an educated MG patient, and was I believe one of the first treatments for this illness.

Ephedrine -
"Harriet Isabel Edgeworth, American biochemist, 1892 - , discovered the beneficial effect of ephedrine upon myasthenia gravis. Recorded in 1930."(3) Dr. Edgeworth noticed the first symptoms of myasthenia gravis in 1918 while she was employed as a chemist. Over the following years her symptoms slowly worsened until the winter of 1925 when she was hospitalized for the first time and a diagnosis of myasthenia gravis was confirmed. Over the following year she consulted with various researchers and volunteered herself as a subject for experimental treatment. Over the following three years she became increasingly worse until she was "totally helpless, had constant diplopia, was unable to chew, and had difficulty in talking, swallowing and breathing." "In the summer of 1929, while taking (for an entirely different purpose) tablets containing 1/8 grain (0.008 gm) ephedrine and 1 1/2 grain (0.1 gm.) amidopyrine, I noted a surprising improvement." Over the following years Dr. Edgeworth collaborated with researchers in a trial and error testing of ephedrine which showed conclusively that ephedrine was effective in the treatment of myasthenia gravis.(8) Her first report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (J.A.M.A.). (9)

alice